Ever Buy Stuff That You Probably Don't Even Need?

[LanghamP]

19 minutes ago, Rehab1 said:

I can’t speak for Marty but my wife will never attempt to ride again. Her entire training process lasted only a few days.

I’m jealous of the groups of riders that get together on the weekends and have fun cruising around. I had high hopes riding with my grandson but he is so involved in sports that he doesn’t want to injure himself. Also seeing his grandpa busted up may have affected him psychologically.

Maybe if you showed him this video then he'd be psychologically better.

 

[RockyTop]

My wife wanted to learn but said she knew that she would never be able to. I said, “Great, you are probably right. Women suck at this kind of thing anyway.”  It took her about a month but she made eat my words.

I told her that if she spent 15 minutes every day standing on the wheel she would eventually learn and she did. She destroyed a mini fridge on the back porch and did a Superman dive into the bushes but she learned. I now travel in an EUC pack and as long as I supply the EUC’s I think the pack will only grow bigger. ( family membership is required for free EUC)

[Rehab1]

10 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Maybe if you showed him this video then he'd be psychologically better.

Lol! That was my favorite! Thanks for making me smile!

 

5 minutes ago, RockyTop said:

My wife wanted to learn but said she knew that she would never be able to. I said, “Great, you are probably right. Women suck at this kind of thing anyway.”  

Your the man! My wife would have shot me!

[Unventor]

1 hour ago, Rehab1 said:

Lol! That was my favorite! Thanks for making me smile!

 

Your the man! My wife would have shot me!

Well you need to read what he didnt tell you...what the punishment is..see I didn't write was, as he is still undergoing it 😁

Husband-wife mechanics never fail.

[Dingfelder]

8 hours ago, RockyTop said:

I read most of this post yesterday and no one ever mentioned by far the most obvious. I am afraid to say it because I am afraid I will be banned from this site permanently. The truth is few people really NEED one. You see one and your brain tricks you into thinking you have to have one. They are very expensive and dangerous. They take a lot of time and skill to mount and if you make the smallest mistake you end up on you hands and knees in tears questioning all your decisions. I guess you already know what I am talking about so I am just going to say it. A wife. 

The hydraulics are questionable too.  They are always leaking.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

7 hours ago, Unventor said:

Yes but can you stream EUC videos on it and..can you design marty-Ts on it? And last test, can you watch livefeeds from @Marty Backe and @Duf ?😏

Actually.... it smokes all my other mediaboxes (MiBox, Beelink GT1, etc) in terms of speed and function.  I always cheaped out on these since others were only $100 or so, but thinking back if I had bought the Shield I wouldn't have wasted my money on the others.  The gaming part is actually quite awesome for casual gamers.  If you need the latest and greatest then a gaming PC is the way to go, but for around $200 CAD with the game controller it's a no brainer.  I've been playing more games than I ever had in years!  I'm no good any more of course, but it's fun to mess around with.  Tombraider is pretty easy, and the graphics are impressive for an older game.  GeForce now doesn't have all the games available for streaming like Star Trek Bridge Crew , but apparently they add new ones now and then.  I've just been playing the free ones, but maybe I'll buy something on Steam and double check to make sure it works on the GeForce Now streaming service.  I found out after I bought Star Trek Bridge Crew that it's one of the ones that doesn't run through the stream.  Whoops!    I ended up getting a refund for it.

I'm still tempted to buy a gaming PC or laptop just to play that game!    VR on it would be so cool, but there's no way I'm going to plunk down $3000 for the PC and HTC Vive Pro setup just for one game.

Marty never did run with the Marty-T idea so we're the only ones with limited two print T-shirts in existence.

[The Fat Unicyclist]

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 7:38 AM, Rehab1 said:

I can’t speak for Marty but my wife will never attempt to ride again. Her entire training process lasted only a few days.

Chrissi is still keen to learn (as time and weather permits), but in the meantime, she is quite happy riding the KS-N1b... Not quite a Dualtron, but not a Lime scooter either. It has a top speed of 25 mph, and a range of up to 30 miles.

Perhaps @Mrs. Rehab1 would be more accepting of something like that?

[Rehab1]

1 hour ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

Chrissi is still keen to learn (as time and weather permits), but in the meantime, she is quite happy riding the KS-N1b... Not quite a Dualtron, but not a Lime scooter either. It has a top speed of 25 mph, and a range of up to 30 miles.

Perhaps @Mrs. Rehab1 would be more accepting of something like that?

Many thanks for the advice. That may be a possibility but for now Mrs. Rehab1 is content riding in a conveyance that has 4 wheels and a heater. 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Man this Nvidia Shield is a blast!  I’ve been working my way slowly through the free Tombraider game on the streaming Geforce Now service, and it’s been a lot of fun to play.  There are a ton of other games too plus I discovered that I think it can run almost any Steam game you have in your library.  If it’s not an officially supported game the server has to download and install it each time though.  

I should have given Bridge Crew a try when it was on sale for $31 for the whole package including the Next Gen DLC and original series bridge add ons.  Oh well.  For casual gamers like me this box was well worth the money. The Nvidia controller is great plus I think the Shield accepts the Microsoft wireless 360 controller USB dongle so you can use the Xbox 360 wireless controllers.

One criticism is that some games don’t seem to work in multiplayer mode for some reason while others do.  I can’t get the network on the server working for multiplayer Tombraider.

[Scatcat]

On 12/2/2018 at 11:52 AM, Rehab1 said:

Many thanks for the advice. That may be a possibility but for now Mrs. Rehab1 is content riding in a conveyance that has 4 wheels and a heater. 

So what we need is a four wheel e-scooter with electrically heated seating and a heating fan!

[Rehab1]

2 hours ago, Scatcat said:

So what we need is a four wheel e-scooter with electrically heated seating and a heating fan!

And a huge power source.

[Scatcat]

23 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

And a huge power source.

Maybe invent the flux capacitor and import a compact fusion cell from 2218?

[Dingfelder]

I just ordered some brushes that attach to your drill, because I hate scrubbing the tub endlessly, usually with super-toxic chemicals, and getting almost nowhere with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRLZ43B/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Customer reviews are about as good as those things can get.

I also ordered the softer version for more delicate stuff.  I'm thinking of using that to try to get leaf stains and gunk off my car and trailer, and the painted bannisters on the deck outside.  

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Those actually look pretty useful!  I’ve got caked on soap scum on my shower walls so I’ll give these a try.  I found some on AliExpress for $10 with free shipping.  Takes like 3-4 months delivery, but I’m in no rush.

[John Hearsey]

17 hours ago, Dingfelder said:

I just ordered some brushes that attach to your drill, because I hate scrubbing the tub endlessly, usually with super-toxic chemicals, and getting almost nowhere with it.

Funny, I once put a long bolt thru thru a round handheld kitchen brush and have been using it with my cordless drill to clean the shower...

[Dingfelder]

Smart!  There are probably any number of things like that which could be improvised.  I bet it could be used with something really soft to polish, too, for example.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I tried my first Instant Pot beef stew recipe yesterday, and it went okay.  I tried this recipe:

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/pressure-cooker-pot-roast/

It turned out well, but I had a seal leak for a few minutes that I didn't know was supposed to be that way or not.  The Instant Pot has this weird loose kind of silicone seal in the lid which has to sit just right to seal properly.  Steam coming out of the sides is a no no!  After adjusting that things went pretty smoothly, but holy cow 4 minutes on high pressure cooking made my potatoes almost into mush!  It takes about 4 minutes to heat up, seal, and pressurize before the timer starts, but man it's quick to cook veggies.  You have to be cautious as overcooking makes them into mash pretty much.

I was a bit disappointed with the recipe as I was hoping for more umami savoriness.  I think the mushrooms might have thrown things off a bit?  I don't know since I've had better beef stew.  I guess this is more a pot roast, but still, flavor-wise it was missing something.  It did tenderize my cheaper cut of meat from Walmart pretty well.  I got a $9 top sirloin chunk which wasn't that marbled so it was still a little chewy on the inside.  Oh well, I'll have to search for a better recipe.  The Instant Pot is quite handy though as compared to a conventional one where you have to time it and watch it carefully.

[LanghamP]

@Hunka Hunka Burning Love

If you have time, I find cutting the meat and then sauteing it in the Instant Pot (setting saute), then closing everything up really helps the meat stew have extra kick to it.

However, if you can't be bothered doing that then halving the recommended water also gives extra kick.

As for mushrooms, those are a pain because the Pot blows apart mushrooms. Same with things like broccoli heads. Dunno about that... 

For most vegetables I set it to zero minutes then use the valve to depressurize quickly. Eggs also need to be treated the same, or else they come out beyond hard-boiled. Edible but crumbly. However, there is no better way than making hardboiled eggs than using a pressure cooker.

The big disadvantage to any pressure cooker is that you can't see inside. I'm hoping Instant Pot will came out with a version that has some sort of glass window.

[Dingfelder]

They do sell a glass window as an accessory, but it's for steaming/sauteeing, not pressurizing.  You could probably get one cheap from another pot at a discount store even if you have to buy the pan to go with it, or at a thrift store.

Re your stew getting overcooked, I believe it's because of your poor seal.  (The reason I didn't buy one, btw.)   If a seal isn't complete, you will cook your food partially, by steaming it, then cook it again once you've fiddled with the seal and tried again ... and however many times over it takes you to get the seal just right.  It won't be as harsh as pressure cooking, but since you're already cooking in liquid, your taters will get mushy very easily.

This is what I found with my own electric pressure cooker when it didn't get the seal right. 

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Yes I've seen that glass lid that is available.   I might have to get one.  I was sauteing the beef chunk (didn't cut it up as per instructions), and to prevent splashes of the oil I set the lid on top without locking it.  I think that may have shifted the silicon seal a little so when it came to pressure cooking the meat it didn't reach the proper pressure.  I noticed it after about 5 minutes so it wasn't too long.  I would have thought the seal would be more robust or idiot-proof, but I guess not!  I just poked at it a bit and repositioned it which made things work.

The veggies I set it to 4 minutes on high pressure.  Someone said to use low pressure instead so I might try that next time.  It was mainly the flavor at the end which wasn't that great.  Rosemary and Thyme were used plus salt and pepper.  Onions.  It felt like it was missing a secret ingredient for some reason.  Oh well, might have to find a better one as I was expecting something more savory.  Maybe it was the chicken stock instead of beef stock that wasn't doing the trick?  I'll try cutting up the meat into chunks instead next time.  I didn't find my mushrooms exploded, they just shrunk up quite a bit.  I might try some ribs next time.  This thing is pretty fun to cook with.  It's basically a high pressure sterilizer!  

[Dingfelder]

Do you add carrots and celery?  They are a big part of the flavor base you can expect in classic western soups, stews, and sauces.  If you were relying on store-bought chicken stock, that's also often disappointing because it usually tastes like almost nothing, ,unless they add a lot of salt -- and then it tastes like salt.  

The rosemary and thyme sound good, and normally herbs add enormous flavor in pressure cooking, because the volatile oils are kept in so much more easily.

You might want to try some cumin or paprika, and some worcestershire(sp?) too.  They can add a nice depth of flavor.  

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Carrots check.  No celery.  I think the mushrooms imparted a strange flavor.  Thyme, rosemary.  Just followed the recipe basically.  Will take those tips under advisement!

On a side note I did figure out how to make my own garlic onion dip!  

Mix:

• half cup mayonaise
• half cup sour cream
• teaspoon of onion power (dried onion flakes also likely would work)
• half teaspoon garlic powder (non-salted)
• salt to taste (half teaspoon approx)
• half teaspoon dried dill

Allow to sit in frigerator for about an hour.  Enjoy!  (And grab a mint after)

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Free Instant Pot Kindle format digital cook book!    Works with iOS Kindle app!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KKB4SNZ

Actually there’s a few free ones on both .ca and .com sites.  Search for Instant Pot Cookbook and filter sort low to high.  Dunno which ones are good though.

[Dingfelder]

Just got tons of praise at a party for making faux starbucks egg thingies.  I used this:

https://www.amazon.com/Aozita-Silicone-Bites-Instant-Accessories/dp/B076V9C817/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544954030&sr=8-3&keywords=aozita+silicon+egg+bites+molds

Intended to rough out the recipe of this starbucks classic on the fly because though I've never had a starbucks version, I've made enough eggs in my life to be confident I could figure something out.  Basics are: eggs, cottage cheese, other cheeses, cream. I used evaporated milk.  Also crushed/sliced bacon sprinkles in the bottom.  Put it all but the bacon in a blender; did the cheese/cream first to keep it fluid and get it kinda smooth before adding the eggs.

I didn't want to use the full depth of the individual egg molds because 1) I didn't want each to come over as almost a meal in itself instead of just a cute party appetizer, and 2) mixed eggs can puff up and over-flow, and that doesn't do anyone any good.  So I put about a tablespoon and a third in each hole.  Took out once the liquid egg mixture puffed up and started to pull away from the sides one by one.  I think these things could be great in other ways, limited by imagination, like ... meatloaf bites ... lots more but this post is long enough.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Not too sure why I bought this, but I wanted it!    Plus it was on sale in Canada at Bestbuy for $39.  Can't beat that!  I got a BB8 as well, but after a few times playing, it's just collecting dust pretty much.  There's only so much you do with a remote controlled ball.